Louis Vuitton updated the Tambour watch case in 2023, creating a slimmer, more refined version of the capstan head shape that was the signature of the brand’s watchmaking during its first twenty years.
The changes are subtle: the curve of the 10mm high case is less pronounced and the smaller 40mm diameter body combine with a supremely well engineered bracelet to make a watch that’s as discreet as it is sophisticated – think Parmigiani’s Tonda or Chopard’s Alpine Eagle for intent but with far more contemporary feeling. Too many recent ‘sports-luxe’ watches owe too much to the template established by Gerald Genta’s design for the Royal Oak, but the Tambour turns the sporty-dressy on its head – you’d need a very stylish pool to be its backdrop.
As with the original design, the intention was always for the Tambour to be the vehicle for horological fireworks, and La Fabrique du Temps have duly delivered with two watches: the Spin-Time with its rotating cubes that highlight the hour, which is something of a signature for Louis Vuitton watchmaking, and the Tambour Convergence.
The Convergence is seemingly the simpler watch, but its design is more remarkable. A vintage-style montre à guichet (window watch), it takes its design cues from the Vuitton family home in Asniéres to the west of Paris. Essentially, it is a watch inspired by your great-grandmother’s salon, the sort of approach that only Louis Vuitton would have the nerve to attempt. It works, right down to the attention to detail, in the smaller dimensions (8mm high and 37mm in diameter), the curved frames for the guichets, the sand blasted edges and even the slight flair on the numerals, all making up a package that pastiches the past to create something absolutely up to date.
Louis Vuitton even point out that the polished rose gold front of the watch is bound to pick up what they call the 'palimpsest of subtle marks that reflects the story of its wearer'. Who else would dare?
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